Episode 6 of HBO’s Game of Thrones may have been the best episode so far. A Golden Crown was filled with drama, humour, and the first major character death (of many). Here are the…

Top 5 Moments of Episode 6~A Golden Crown

5. Viserys and the Dragon Eggs

Viserys: I am the last hope of a dynasty. The greatest dynasty this world has ever seen, on my shoulders since I was five years old, and no one has ever given me what they gave to her in that tent. Never. Not a piece of it.

Reasoning: We could have chosen the flashy weirdness of Dany’s horse heart eating scene (that’s a sentence I never thought I’d use) but the simple interaction between Viserys and Jorah says so much more than a blood covered Khaleesi ever could. George RR Martin’s books are special because of the complexity of even the most minor characters, but if any were to be described as one-note it would be Viserys. This scene gives him a soul. We see inside his madness to the jealous, sad, and weighted man underneath. He becomes human. If we’d been given more time, who knows, maybe we’d come to like Viserys…okay, maybe not.

The Nerd Vortex wants to do what we can to support struggling artists and writers. That’s why we’re putting out a call to all of you who will be manning a table in Artist Alley at this year’s FanExpo Canada. The Nerd Vortex wants to shine a spotlight on all of you who’ve paid for a table to hock your hard work because, let’s face it, anyone who has been to a convention knows some of the best (and most surprising) things are found in Artist Alley.

Just fill out our form (and by all means, add anything you think we’re missing) and send it to nerdvortex AT gmail DOT Com. Depending on the number of submissions, we’ll be posting our Artist Alley Spotlights daily during the weeks leading up to FanExpo Canada, and will also have a companion piece featured on www.comicbookdaily.com.

You’re worked hard and deserve the recognition. Hopefully we can get people excited about this year’s Artist Alley, and a little advertising never hurt anyone. Spotlight Form after the cut…

Fans who having been following the production of HBO’s Game of Thrones from the beginning know what George RR Martin’sFroggy icon means–mischief. Martin entertained, confused (but rarely stumped) and surprised his fans during the previous casting sessions, with clues to roles and actors hired for the HBO drama. The frog made a brief return today when Martin posted:

I’ll be back soon, I will, I will.

This is the tease many fans have been waiting for. It seems HBO will continue to allow George RR Martin to toy with his fans with casting clues. After the series was greenlit for the first season, some wondered if the clues would stop; if HBO would crack down and make bigger and grander announcements. Sometimes they did and GRRM’s clue confirmations came from the likes of Mo Ryan, or the Hollywood Reporter. For other smaller roles, Martin was able to make the announcements himself. It built a camaraderie within the fansites, and even surprised Mr. Martin a time or two with their sleuthing skills. It’s wonderful that HBO will be allowing this again for the second season casting. Hopefully Game of Thrones newbies will have as much fun as the veterans this time around.

In the comments, GRRM adds:

Haven’t seen any auditions for Stannis yet, but I expect they are coming soon. But yes on Melisandre… and on Ygritte, Asha, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Davos, Dolorous Edd, Margaery Tyrell, Brienne, and many more… as usual, Nina Gold has found some great actors for us.

It looks like Brienne, Asha, and Dolorous Edd (Yay!) are all in for season 2. What character are you looking forward to most in the second season of Game of Thrones? What actors are just so? Tell us in comments.

Daenerys Targaryen is a difficult part to play. She starts off as a meek young girl and grows into a Khaleesi of the Dothraki horse lords. The actress playing her needs to be believable in both roles. Fans were worried, and sceptical (and nitpicking about eye-brows), but newcomer, Emilia Clarke, has met all expectations. She’s vulnerable and strong and we can’t wait to see what else she can bring to the character. For now, we’ve picked the

Top 5 Daenerys Moments

5. I Don’t Want to Be His Queen~Episode 1

Dany: I don’t want to be his queen. I want to go home.Viserys: So do I. I want us both to go home, but, they took it from us. So tell me sweet sister, how do we go home?Dany: I don’t know.Viserys: We go home with an army.

Reasoning: When we first meet Dany, she’s being sold off to Khal Drogo by her scheming brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd). This scene shows the dynamic between the two. Emilia Clarke shows all of Dany’s fear and trepidation in her eyes and reaction to Viserys’ touch. Clarke and Lloyd play off of each other extremely well and are a joy to watch. Continue reading HBO’s Game of Thrones 1-5: Top 5 Daenerys Targaryen Moments→

Say what you will about his accent, no one could play Tyrion like Peter Dinklage. Tyrion is humour and heart, wise and witty, and another character with a lot of good scenes to weed through before we came up with the…

Top 5 Tyrion Lannister Moments

5. Many Courses~Episode 1

Jaime: See you at sundownTyrion: Close the door!

Reasoning: In Game of Thrones, whores and exposition go together like sword and sorcery. We meet Tyrion while he is being pleasured by the red-headed whore, Ros (Esme Bianco). He may be a dwarf (not the magical bearded kind) but he’s as lusty as any man and not afraid to experiment. Jaime interrupts his fun and the two have a little chat before Jaime ‘serves all the courses at once.’ This scene proves Game of Thrones isn’t children’s fantasy.

Sure, we love Ned, Arya, and Catelyn Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, and Jon Snow, but Game of Thrones is more than its main cast. There are dozens (and dozens and dozens) of supporting character vying for screen time. Some we love and some we love to hate. Here’s our…

Top 5 Supporting Characters Who Need More Screen Time

5. Lancel Lannister

Reasoning: Lancel Lannister (Eugene Simon) has only been in a couple of scenes so far, but he’s quickly becoming one of our favourite punching bags. Robert’s awkward squire can’t do anything right. He spends most of his time sputtering for words and staring in wide-eyed fear. We love him. Let’s hope he doesn’t spend too much time searching for that breastplate stretcher and gets back to our screens ASAP.

4. The Boys of the Night’s Watch: Pyp, Grenn & Rast

Reasoning: Jon Snow (and recently Samwell Tarly) may be front and center at the Wall, but they’re not the only Black Brothers worth watching. The trio of Pyp (Josef Altin), Grenn (Mark Stanley), and Rast (Luke McEwan) round out our ragtag group of misfits. Whether sword fighting (poorly), ganging up on Jon (fairly well), or chasing each other around the yard (not unlike Benny Hill), these three are never dull. We want to know more about them. They all need their time to shine.

3. The Hound

Reasoning: The Hound (Rory McCann) is a man of few words. He’s big and gruff and willing to run down a child on the whim of Joffrey Baratheon. We’ve heard his story, but not from his own mouth. We saw him take on his brother, the Mountain; now it’s time to see what makes him tick. We need him to pull back his hair so we can see just how gruesome those scars really are.

2. Hodor

Reasoning: Every television show needs a 7 foot tall stable-hand who only says his own name (he’s like a really big pokemon). Hodor (Kristian Nairn) has said 2 words (hodor, hodor), been in 2 scenes, and we can’t wait for more. As fans of the books, we want to see how they build Hodor’s relationship to Bran. The gentle giant needs more screen time. Hodor!

For part 2 of our Game of Thrones recap, we take a look at the honourable and sometimes rigid Eddard Stark. Sean Bean was a fan favourite even before the show was cast, and lives up to expectations. morally good characters tend to come off as 1 note and boring but Bean’s Ned is nuanced and sympathetic. We see many sides of the stoic Lord Stark in the first 5 episodes. Let’s take a look at the…

Top 5 Ned Stark Moments

5. Beheading the Deserter~Episode 1

Ned: In the name of Robert of the house Baratheon, first of his name, king of the Andals and the first men, lord of the seven kingdoms and protector of the realm, I Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and warden of the North, sentence you to die.

Reasoning: This scene was released as a 15 minute preview before the actual premiere. We saw it in a dozen promotions and trailers. When the first episode finally aired, I would bet my direwolf that I wasn’t the only one who could recite it verbatim. Still, it is the perfect introduction to our heroic Lord Stark, and the cold cruelty of the North. He’s powerful, and unyielding, but takes no pleasure in what he has to do. From the get go we see he’s ruled by duty, honour, and family. Maybe he should have been born a Tully.